ETC Welcomes Ethereum Miners After PoS Merge

On September 15, 2022, Ethereum completed its transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake — "The Merge." This ended PoW mining on the Ethereum network and displaced thousands of GPU miners worldwide. Ethereum Classic emerged as the natural home for this mining community.

## The Migration

Within hours of The Merge, ETC's network hashrate began climbing dramatically:

- **Pre-Merge hashrate**: ~25 TH/s
- **Peak post-Merge**: Over 200 TH/s (8x increase)
- **Stabilized level**: Significantly above pre-Merge baseline

The migration was driven by practical factors: ETC uses the ETChash algorithm (derived from Ethash), meaning existing GPU mining hardware and software required minimal reconfiguration.

## Why ETC

Several factors made Ethereum Classic the primary destination:

- **Algorithm compatibility**: ETChash works with the same GPU hardware used for ETH mining
- **Established network**: ETC has operated continuously since 2015 with an active ecosystem
- **Proof-of-work commitment**: ETC's community has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to PoW consensus
- **EVM compatibility**: Developers can deploy the same smart contracts and tools

## Security Impact

The hashrate increase dramatically improved ETC's security posture. More hashrate means a higher cost to mount a 51% attack, making the network more resistant to the kind of chain reorganization attacks that affected ETC in 2020.

## Community Response

The ETC community welcomed the influx of miners. Mining pools expanded capacity, and infrastructure providers ensured their nodes could handle increased network activity. The community emphasized that ETC's value proposition — proof-of-work security, immutability, and sound monetary policy — aligns with the priorities of miners who value decentralized consensus.

## A New Era

Post-Merge, Ethereum Classic became the largest proof-of-work smart contract platform by hashrate and the original EVM chain still secured by mining. This position distinguishes ETC in the broader EVM ecosystem.